Scars
by Lost Demon102
Summary: Three shinobis and three kunoichis. What has become of them after the war between Leaf and Sound? Strangers still? Friends? Or something more? And when the scars are showing once again? NaruOC, NejiOC, ShikaOC. A little cursing and bloody...
1. The Sky

A/N: This is, like, only an introduction of who's paired up with who. My OC and my friends' OC's paired up with three guys from Konoha... So it's all short...

O-O-O

"C'mon!"  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"No."  
"Ritsuko!"  
"No."

"Why won't you go with me and Shikamaru to watch the clouds?" the brunette whined. With her brown eyes, she stared at her black-haired friend. This green-eyed Sound ninja, who was oh-so-serious, glared at her companion, the brunette. Agurashi Mei's pouting couldn't get Kagachiwa Ritsuko to come along...

"Agurashi Mei, remind me of something."  
"What is it?" Mei asked in curiosity.  
"Why is it that you call me a... friend?"

It was a fine day. The clouds floated across the blue sky as three ninjas, two from the Hidden Village of Sound, both 16-year-olds; and a 15-year-old ninja from the Hidden Village of Rain, sat on the grassy fields right outside of Konoha... It was _supposed_ to be a fine day. Two of these ninjas kept arguing. Mei and Ritsuko's purple-haired friend from Sound,Yakushi Yumiko, didn't seem to mind the arguing since this was a daily thing... It became a habit for the three...

"What do you mean, Ritsuko? Aren't we friends?" Mei asked the very annoyed Ritsuko. Ritsuko gave Mei a deadlier glare. Mei simply blinked, waiting for an answer. Ritsuko shook her head, not meaning "no" but she tried to stop herself from getting too angry that she'd kill Mei right there. She looked down to her left where her pet chick, Nell who doesn't seem to age, stared up at her owner. Nell chirped, finally getting the attention she was waiting for. Ritsuko brushed the tiny feathers on the chick's head with her fingers.

"Why do you pay more attention to Nell?" Mei asked angrily, waving her arms. No answer came from Ritsuko which made Mei even more irritated. Ritsuko just mindlessly patted Nell softly.

"The feathers. They're yellow. It reminds her of Naruto. That's why." came Yumiko's voice. Mei, being in Ritsuko's right, looked over at the other Sound ninja who sat at Ritsuko's left. Yumiko, too, was patting her own pet: a Siberian husky, Cello.

Ritsuko blinked, snapping out of her mindless-ness and looked up at Yumiko. "And what do you mean by that?" she asked. Yumiko just smiled at her.

"Naruto?" Mei said, "Oh! Yeah! His hair! It's blonde!"  
"I never said I had any interests in that Uzumaki Naruto." Ritsuko murmured, angrier than ever.  
"But-"

Ritsuko turned her head to look at Mei with the deadliest glare. Mei swallowed, knowing what the glare meant.

"C'mon Ritsuko. You can mute Mei anytime with your powers of sound but I'm from sound, too. I can always get Mei's voice back from you." Yumiko reminded. Ritsuko sighed and stood up.

"Come, Nell. We're going." Ritsuko said, facing the direction where Konoha stood. She started walking back to the village, followed by Nell. But only after a few steps did they stop in their tracks.

"Ritsuko!" a voice called. Ritsuko turned to look back at Yumiko and Mei. Three other ninjas, 17-year-olds all from Konoha, were standing near by. And she saw one in particular waving his hand at her. Shikamaru, Neji, and, to her surprise, Naruto came to join them. Cello barked happily at the sight of Neji. Ritsuko heard Nell chirp. She looked down at her pet chick then back at the other five ninjas. Hesitated at first, but gave in anyway, she walked back to her spot.

As she sat with the rest, Ritsuko saw Mei hug Shikamaru suddenly. Ritsuko looked at Yumiko who smiled at Neji. Then lastly, she looked at Naruto who smiled at her.

"Hm." was all she could say as she closed her eyes and placed her arms over her bent up knees.

The six sat on the grass, relaxed and watched as the clouds continued to float, free in the sky...

O-O-O

A/N: Yup. That's it... Please review...


	2. Mother

A/N: Okay. This chapter will be based on Ritsuko's past. Hope you'll understand. I had to fix a lot of crap in my notebook where I wrote this fic. If you'll see this chapter in my notebook, it's totally different but they both have the same idea, anyways... Okay then. R&R please...

O-O-O

After the six spent the rest of the day together, they decided to go home for a good night's rest. Ritsuko, Mei and Yumiko aren't from Konoha, as explained before. Yumiko and Cello stay at Yumiko's own apartment near Yakushi Kabuto's. They're cousins... Mei, also being cousins with someone in particular, TenTen, stayed at TenTen's house. Ritsuko, on the other hand, doesn't have anywhere to stay. The last time she went to Konoha, when she met Naruto four years ago, she slept on a tree branch in the forests outside Konoha...

The six ninjas said their goodbyes and went their separate ways home. Ritsuko and Nell were left with Naruto by then. Simply, they walked to Naruto's apartment but stopped just right outside of it.

"Hey Ritsuko, uhm, why not stay here tonight? Don't you have nowhere to stay while here in Konoha?" Naruto asked. Ritsuko shook her head as to answer "no" to the blonde shinobi.

"So...?" Naruto asked Ritsuko for her decision. Ritsuko just shrugged.

"There _is_ no harm in staying here in your... apartment." Ritsuko said, considering the place as an apartment. She heard from a lot that it was full of random things at Naruto's place.

This made Naruto smile that fox smile he always had. So, with no other word, they, including Nell, went into the apartment.

Naruto closed the door. Ritsuko saw how messy the one-room apartment was. People were right then, she would think. She had to move aside some of Naruto's... things, as he may call them. To her, it was junk. So she had to move some junk to make room on the floor for her to sleep on.

"Uhm, sorry. I know it's messy. But, you know, having so many missions, I don't have time to clean my own place." Naruto explained, scratching the back of his head and looking at Ritsuko. Ritsuko didn't seem to care about his reason why the place was a junkyard because all that was heard was an "hm" from the Sound ninja as she lay on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.

Naruto looked at her in thought, remembering how she hasn't changed since the time they met.

"Hey Ritsuko, for the four years we knew each other, why are you still so serious? I mean, you have friends now, and..." Naruto asked, breaking the silence. In respond, he heard Nell chirp. Nell knew that the last sentence that came out of Naruto's mouth was a _big_ mistake.

Ritsuko slowly sat up and looked at Naruto. Though Naruto can only see Ritsuko's left eye, her right one being covered by her bangs, he clearly saw it change from green to silver. "Do not say that I have friends, Uzumaki Naruto. You know, very well, why." she said as her eye shone in the moonlight.

"C'mon, Ritsuko. That's the past. Your mom would be happy if you-"

Unable to finish his sentence, Naruto felt strong wind blowing from where Ritsuko sat to different parts of the room, making everything a mess once more. Naruto closed his eyes and looked away. When all the wind just disappeared into a breeze, Naruto opened his eyes and looked back at Ritsuko. She was lying on the floor, asleep. She probably didn't want to wreck the place so she stopped but lay unconscious. Nell chirped, worried that her owner was hurt.

The 17-year-old blonde walked to Ritsuko's side and sat down. Nell chirped once more, hoping Naruto would do something to help. Naruto patted Nell softly. "It's okay, Nell." he said, assuring the chick that nothing wrong happened.

Naruto stared at Ritsuko. He was sure of why Ritsuko was like this. He _knew_ why Ritsuko was like this. It's because of what happened when she was 7. What she _did_ when she 7...

She killed her own mother...

Since then, she never made friends with anyone. She was extremely close to her mother. She then stayed as the only girl with her father and brother, Hisoka. But she never knew she killed her mother. She was told by her a father multiple times that she died of sickness. But she got hints from other Sound ninjas at their village. Sometimes she'd hear people say things such as "It's her." or "Isn't she the one with the worst monster?" though she wasn't sure, then, if she was the one they were talking about. She didn't know. She didn't _want_ to know if she was the one they were talking about. A lot of people from Sound were strange. But was it her who was the most unusual?

It was months, no, a year after they met did she find out that she was the one who murdered her mother. Not only did she find out that painful fact but she also found out that she was not alone when she killed her mother. She was controlled by a demon which, until now, no one knows what kind of demon it is. And that demon had horrible silver eyes and silver chakra, the one that Ritsuko possesses.

It is sad. Naruto, he knew, of course, had a beast within him, himself. He was also hated by many but now, no more. He has friends to be there for him, to support him when needed. But where the two differs is that Ritsuko was used as a weapon from time to time whenever Sound was in danger. Ritsuko, as a young girl, didn't know what she was doing while in battles. And being used as a tool was not what Naruto wants for others like when he had met Haku...

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts. He noticed that Ritsuko was still there, still asleep. He stood up, went to his bed and lay on it. He took one last look at Ritsuko. "Hope you sweet dreams, Ritsuko." he whispered before dozing off into a deep sleep.

O-O-O

It was pitch black. Nothing could be seen. Nothing was heard either. All there was was emptiness and a slight breeze. That's all she, Kagachiwa Ritsuko, felt, the wind touching her skin. Her long-sleeve, yellow, turtle-neck top and her long, wavy hair swayed along with the relaxing breeze. It almost seemed peaceful. The thing she has always waited for was this, a moment where in she felt so untroubled... She wished that she'd never leave this moment... This dream...

But as a lot have heard, probably a million times, that we should be careful of what we wish for, because dreams can turn into nightmares...

The wind stopped. Then Ritsuko started falling downwards, falling in what seemed like an empty, dark and endless pit.

But after a while, she landed on her side. She landed on what felt like grass. She opened her eyes since her eyes were, like anyone who just fell from a great height, closed. She turned to face the sky. She stood up and brushed the grass and dirt off her shirt and jeans. She looked around to try to figure out where she was. She found herself in a place so familiar. Wide-eyed, Ritsuko realized where she was.

She was in the park her mother and she, herself, would always go to, to spend time together. Those times from long years ago... the times with happiness, times with laughter... The laughter...

She heard it. She heard laughter. She heard her own laughter of joy.

She turned to look around once more. She wanted to know where the sound of laughter came from. Then a different laughter was heard...

It was her mother's laughter. The laughter she had longed for ever since the death that she had caused.

Looking around for the last time, she listened carefully. After knowing which direction the laughter came from, she ran to that direction, desperate to see her mother once again. She was running and panting, but she did not stop until she reached her mother.

After a while, she finally arrived... But it was too late...

A different, _very_ different laughter was heard this time. To her horror, Ritsuko saw her mother dead on the ground...

Her mother's once beautiful, long, brown hair was stained with blood, and so was her white gown. Her mouth was open in shock; here eyes were wide. Those used to be shining so brightly with utter happiness, those emerald green eyes of her mother, but they were now blank as she lay still, not breathing, not alive... but dead...

Ritsuko looked down at her own, younger self of nine years ago. Her back was facing her. Silver aura was surrounding the child. The past Ritsuko turned to face the present one. The silver eyes of the demon were staring at Ritsuko's own green ones. Her younger self was laughing, laughing like a complete maniac!

"You... You are me, are you not?" the demon's harsh voice asked.  
"No. I- I'm not a monster! I'm not like you at all!" Ritsuko burst out with tear filled eyes.  
"How can you not be? I'm inside of you. You cannot escape me."  
"No!"  
"You killed your own mother, yes?"  
"No! You-"

"You're a murderer!"

"No!"

The past Ritsuko smirked, showing awful, sharp, bloody teeth. She walked slowly to the present Ritsuko.

"NO!"

The demon jumped high above her, ready to attack. But before Ritsuko backed away, before anything else could happen, a flash of light blinded Ritsuko...

"Is that her?"  
"No, keep away from her!"  
"MONSTER!"

Ritsuko opened her eyes. She saw a number of Sound ninjas surrounding her. Some had torches, others had kunai knives.

"No! Stop!" Ritsuko cried.  
"Get lost, you- aargh!"

A man just suddenly screamed in pain. Ritsuko felt like she was burning. Though her vision was blurred, she could see the silver aura once more; this time it surrounded her...

Screams of pain... Shouts of fear... She was causing all of those... She was causing murder...

"NO!"

O-O-O

Ritsuko cracked her eyes open.

"Ah..." she murmured as the morning light shone upon her face. Nell's chirping was heard and Ritsuko knew that the chick was happy to see her owner awake at last.

"Awake?" came a cheerful voice from a loud-mouth. Naruto's face came to view. Unlike last night, his expression now was relief. He was so worried last night though seeing Ritsuko okay now made him feel better. Ritsuko sat up and crossed her legs as Naruto sat beside her. "Don't say a word." Ritsuko blurted out.

"Ritsuko, I-"  
"I said not a word."  
"Ri-"  
"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto stayed silent. He stood up and walked to the door. He turned the doorknob, opening the apartment's door. "You sound like a mother." he said before leaving the room and closing the door.

"Mother..." Ritsuko whispered as she stared at the floor. She lifted her right hand and started circling her index finger. As expected, silver chakra appeared. The silver, spiral string of the demon's energy was visible. Ritsuko heard her mother's lovely voice sing her favorite song. She wanted to get those happy times back. But even if she can listen to her mother sing by using the powers of sound, there's no way she can bring her back to life...

The singing stopped.

She can _never_ bring her back to life...

"That's how your mom sounds like, huh?" a different voice was heard. Ritsuko looked up and saw Naruto leaning on the door frame.

"You came back."  
"I didn't go anywhere, Ritsuko..."

Ritsuko looked back down as Naruto sat beside her once more. And once again, there was silence...

"Naruto," Ritsuko spoke, the silence disappearing, "Why... Why do you... care for me? I'm mean to you. I don't understand it..."

Naruto couldn't help but smile. "I do, I care for you because I can. I can because I want to. And I want to... because you said that I couldn't..."

Ritsuko looked at Naruto who looked at her, too. Naruto's smile wasn't that fox smile he had. His smile was one that was calm. He seemed somehow relaxed as he leaned closer to Ritsuko. He brushed her bangs, revealing Ristsuko's right eye, so now he could see both of her green eyes. He held the right side of her head with his left hand. The two stared at each other. A pair of blue eyes staring at a pair of green... Naruto leaned a little closer, also pulling Ritsuko close and gently, making them nose-to-nose. Naruto closed his eyes. Then...

SLAP!

Naruto opened his eyes and blinked a few times, confused, as Ritsuko stood up. He looked up at her.

"You know, quite well, that never in my life will I kiss you, Uzumaki Naruto." Ritsuko retorted and marched right out of the room, followed by Nell.

Naruto rubbed his left cheek with his hand. It was red and it stung, but he managed to smile that usual fox grin. He stood up and followed Ritsuko as he thought "For the four years we knew each other, she hasn't changed one bit..."

O-O-O

A/N: That's all. I tried to make it long... Was it long enough? I mean, is it long enough? Reviews please... Thank you...


	3. Ripples Of Water

A/N: (talks like a guy in a commercial) Up next, Yumiko's past.

It took me long to make this chapter. Since the O.C. this chapter is about isn't mine, I had to make sure of some details. Yakushi Yumiko belongs to Jishin. And the next chapter, you may already know, is about Agurashi Mei. The second chapter was about Ritsuko, and this one's about Yumiko so it's logical that the next one's about Mei... For me, I sounded weird when I said "logical" Oo

... Anyway, Agurashi Mei belongs to HyuugaVSUchiha. Both Jishin and HyuugaVSUchiha are my friends. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Oh yeah, you guys want the disclaimer thing? Here you go…

Disclaimer: No one here, I own. The only things that are mine are the O.C. named Kagachiwa Ritsuko and the chick named Nell...

O-O-O

A certain purple-haired Sound kunoichi, along with her Siberian husky, met up with her fellow black-haired Sound kunoichi, with her pet chick on her shoulder, by the gates of Konoha. Yumiko smiled at Ritsuko. "Well, Ritsy-chan, it's gonna be a long journey back to Sound."

"_Ritsy-chan_?" a different kunoichi's voice asked.

Suddenly, Ritsuko felt someone place an arm around her neck and started trying to suffocate her, seemingly.

"Morning, guys!" the voice was heard again.  
"Damn you, Agurashi. Let go of me right now." Ritsuko choked.

The brown-haired Rain kunoichi, Mei, did as said. She pouted after letting go of Ritsuko. "You guys are leaving already?"

"We have to." Yumiko said, sadly.  
"Well, I'm one who's actually glad to leave." Ritsuko said, "I can hardly wait to see my father and brother again."

Mei blinked. "What about your mom?" she asked. With that, Ritsuko glared at her.

"You never told her?" Naruto's voice was heard.

Ritsuko looked at the shinobi behind Mei. "You followed me, Uzumaki?" she questioned the blonde as she glared at him, too.

"You didn't notice?" Naruto asked in confusion.

A vein was clearly seen on Ritsuko's forehead. right on top of her left eye which was twitching.

"Never told me what?"  
"Do not ask."  
"Never told me what?"  
"Do. Not. Ask."  
"Never to-"  
"DO NOT ASK!"

"Ritsuko, stop it!" Yumiko yelled. "We really better be going." she added.

"Leaving so soon? You got here only yesterday!" Naruto said, "Can't you stay a little longer?" The blonde pouted.

"Kabuto needs us back in Sound." Yumiko informed. "I wish we could've stayed longer, too."

Naruto sighed. "Well, take care then." he said. Yumiko nodded. Mei and Naruto waved at them as good bye. Yumiko waved back while Ritsuko just stood there. And soon, the two Sound ninjas and their loyal pets set off for their journey back home.

O-O-O

It was silent at first as the two, still with their pets, obviously, walked toward their own village which was miles and miles away. Actually, it was only a little after noon did any of the Sound ninjas speak...

"Hey, Ritsy-chan, what do you think Naruto-kun's doing?" Yumiko asked as they stopped walking to rest.  
"How should I know?"  
"Don't you think he's... thinking about you?"  
"Why would that idiot do that?"  
"He _did_ tell you to take care."  
"Surely, he was talking to the both of us."  
"Oh, I know he's going to _die_ if _I_ get hurt." Yumiko teased.

Ritsuko glared at her companion as she jumped up to a fruit tree's branch. She got some fruits for their lunch then jumped back down with the food. She gave Yumiko and Cello an equal amount of food and then all of them, including the pets, started to eat. Cello barked as he did not think that he would like the fruits. "Sorry Cello. This is all for today, okay boy?" Yumiko said, getting another bark as a respond.

They were sitting by a river bank as they ate their lunch. After eating, Yumiko looked over at Ritsuko who sat quietly, patting Nell.

"Hey Ritsuko, we're friends, right?"  
"Unlike what I said to that Agurashi, yes."  
Yumiko chuckled, knowing that her friend didn't despise Mei at all.  
"...And only you, Yumiko, are my friend. There is no one else."  
"Oh? So Naruto is something more than a friend?"  
"Enough of your teasing."  
"So you _admit_ it?"  
Ritsuko stayed silent.  
"You know, it's not like you're the only one who experienced losing someone." Yumiko started, smiling slightly as she watched the running water of the river flow with her silvery blue eyes.

Ritsuko looked at Yumiko. And now that Yumiko mentioned it, Ritsuko didn't know much about her friend's past.

Yumiko looked back at Ritsuko, with the smile, still. "Will you mind if I start talking about things to you? You don't really have to do anything because you'll just be there, listening. And-"

"And you need someone to listen to you." Ritssuko finished Yumiko's sentence and nodded. Yumiko smiled. "Thanks..."

"Hm." Ritsuko murmured as if to say "You're welcome." She leaned on the tree behind her. But then something small and wet hit Ritsuko's nose with a plop. Ritsuko blinked. She looked up at the sky. It was still after noon and there were already dark, gray clouds. "Damn. It's going to rain..."

Ritsuko held Nell in her hands. Yumiko followed with Cello running beside the purple-haired Sound ninja which is she, Yumiko. They were unlucky. The rain was pouring over them as if they were under a waterfall.

Sooner or later, they found a cave in the foot of a mountain and ran to it. They settled inside and tried drying themselves. After all was satisfied, Risuko sat on the cold, hard ground of the cave. Yumiko did the same across to the other side of the cave. Nell sat beside Ritsuko while Cello sat beside Yumiko.

Ritsuko looked at Yumiko. "So... you were saying?"

Yumiko looked at her fellow kunoichi then to the rain falling from the clouds like tears. "Well, it started like this..."

**Flashback**

"A beautiful day!" a young girl excitedly exclaimed as she woke up, dressed herself up with a simple dress and ran into the dining room to have her breakfast.

"Hey! Where's the fire, little girl?" a man asked, picking up the 3-year-old, as the girl came running into the dining room.

"C'mon, dad! Put me down!" the girl said, giggling and squirming, trying to escape the wrath of the man which is her father. Her father put her down as she said, and the girl went to the table and started eating her breakfast.

"You're a little more cheerful today, Yumiko." the mother stated. The young Yumiko smiled, showing her little, white teeth.

"Kabuto's bringing me to another pretty spot today! I can't wait to go!" Yumiko said after swallowing some of her food.

"Kabuto... He's always searching for new things. That nephew of mine is going to get hurt one day."  
"C'mon, dad. What's wrong with exploring?"  
"Only a joke, Yumi. But I'm always worried when you two go somewhere without any adult. You could get hurt."  
"But Kabuto-kun's always careful."  
"You're my precious little angel... _Do_ you know the meaning of protecting? Do you know when something or someone is precious?"

Yumiko showed a puzzled look. "Things you love and care for are the ones that are precious, right?" she guessed.

"Precious things are the ones that you would always protect, the ones that you would die for, the ones that are _worth_ dying for, dear." Yumiko's father corrected.  
"C'mon dad, you're sounding so corny." Yumiko said, rolling her eyes.  
"Oh really?" the man said in a challenging voice as he picked up his daughter once more and started tickling her. Yumiko giggled and tried to escape her father just like earlier.

Suddenly there were three knocks heard. "C'mon, dad! Kabuto-kun's here!" Yumiko choked, still laughing. Her dad put her down. "Take care now!" both Yumiko's parents said together as their only child, only angel smiled, ran to the front door, went out and joined her cousin in the start of their adventure.

Yumiko smiled at her cousin, Kabuto who smiled back. They both heard barking and looked over at one side of Yumiko's house. Sharla and Cello, Yumiko's huskies, were both staring at them. Yumiko looked back at 10-year-old Kabuto. "Can they come along, Kabuto-kun?" she asked him. Kabuto smiled and nodded. Yumiko smiled brighter and soon, the two children and the two dogs started walking. Kabuto lead the way. Yumiko followed with Sharla on her right while Sharla's little puppy, Cello, on Yumiko's left.

"Nah, Kabuto-kun, how far is this place?  
"Oh. It'll take us only a few minutes to get there."  
"Hey. Last time, you said it would only take us ten minutes. We ended up wasting three hours. I don't think it'll take us a few minutes."  
"We'll see." Kabuto said, smiling. Yumiko looked at him in disbelief and mistrust.

But in no time, the four, including the huskies, reached the foot of a small hill.

"So we _did_ arrive after a few minutes..." the 3-year-old said, defeated. The 10-year-old just smiled at her with the 'I told you so.' look on his face.

Slowly and carefully, the two started to walk up the small, grassy hill along with the two dogs. It surely wasn't long until they reached the top. Here, Kabuto, Yumiko and the two dogs could see mostly everything in their little village and the ocean beside it, spreading like an endless, blue blanket.

"Wow! I never knew the village was so huge! I thought it would be smaller! And the ocean... It's so beautiful!" Yumiko exclaimed happily. Kabuto simply smiled.

_Plop!_

Yumiko looked up. "Rain?"

Kabuto slowly walked to Yumiko and brought her under a tree. He did the same with the dogs. "We'll stay here until the rain stops." Kabuto said in a serious type of voice as the rain started falling from the sheet of dark, gray clouds.

But later on, things started to get worse. The rain was really hard. Kabuto couldn't see a thing because the light rain turned into a horrible storm sooner than they thought. Thunder, lightning, and all that heavy rain and strong wind combined in the terrible incident. The trees were already swaying and branches were being torn apart from different plants.

"We should go and find somewhere to hide. It's no longer safe here." Kabuto said.  
"Can't we go back to the village?"  
"The hill's too slippery. We have to go some place else."

Yumiko could see that Kabuto was worried. She never saw him this way before, her cousin being so troubled, she would think.

Kabuto held Yumiko's hand as he guided her through the storm but it was no use. The ground was wet, muddy and slippery. It was hard. And Kabuto _still_ could barely see anything. There was flood as well. The water was already reaching the children's and the dog's ankles.

Kabuto, all of a sudden, tripped as he hit his foot on a hidden root. He fell to the ground, pulling Yumiko down with him. Following the two, Sharla and Cello fell as well and whimpered in worry. Kabuto held on a different root to prevent him from sliding down the hill. He held Yumiko tightly so his cousin wouldn't fall down either. Cello was successfully caught by Yumiko with her free arm. Sharla, sadly, fell to the foot of the hill where the water's height was very much higher. "Sharla! No!" Yumiko screamed as her Siberian husky disappeared under waves of the salty, rushing water.

Water rose even more as the rain still got harder and harder. The two cousins could see villagers panicking and trying to survive the flood. Yumiko's parents caught sight of the two cousins and called their names, "Yumiko! Kabuto!"

Yumiko could hardly hear her father and mother because of the extremely loud thunder and the sound of the ocean's water which was still rushing in. But soon, she saw them, too. "Otosan! Okasan!" she called.

And then, death was right before them as a giant tidal wave coming from the ocean was moving toward the village. It came crashing down and Kabuto held Yumiko tighter. The wave crushed everything there was that existed in the village and most of the things around it as well, the small village. Kabuto and Yumiko still held on together as Kabuto couldn't hold on to the root any longer and as the water pushed them through what used to be their calm and happy home. Yumiko got hit on her shoulder by a splintery. She opened her mouth to scream in pain but no sound came out as she was still underwater.

After what seemed like eternity, at last, the storm stopped and the water slowly dispersed. From then, the two children's lives were changed.

**End of flashback**

"Kabuto and I were few of the survivors. Cello, too. Orochimaru came a little later after the tragedy, I guess, and took us in. We were trained for years since then." Yumiko explained.  
"Yeah. You were Orochimaru-sama's adopted daughter. I know."  
"We were to kill and do as ordered. I got sick of it, seeing so many people suffering. So then... I left."  
"It was never too late to become what you might have been, huh?"  
Yumiko nodded. "Kabuto told me that, too."  
Ritsuko shrugged. "It's just an old saying..." she said.

The two shivered. Was it their imagination or was the temperature going lower? It was freezing! Yumiko didn't mind though, now that her friend listened to her story. She smiled.

"Hey, remember that I fixed things back in Sound with Kabuto?"  
"How could I forget? Orochimaru-sama left Sound to you and your cousin. The both of you were in charge then."  
"Do you also remember that you were in a battle against Nartuto-chan right before the war stopped?"  
"Yes..."  
"And that you only found out the war actually ended just when you were about to _kill_ Naruto?"  
"I have told you this once. Don't make me say it again."  
"Why? Whatever did I do, Ritsy-chan?" Yumiko giggled.  
"Enough of your teasing, Yumiko."

Yumiko smiled. She looked back at the rain still falling from sky outside the cave that they were in.

"Hn. I already know that I'm not the only one who experienced a painful past."

Yumiko looked back at Ritsuko who was, again, patting Nell.

"And I also know, very well, that that was the past. What's more important now is the present..."

Yumiko smiled at her friend. "Glad to hear that, Ritsy-chan."  
"Feh."

Yumiko smiled a bit more. She patted Cello and looked back at the tiny droplets of water known as rain. Now that Ritsuko just said things about the present being more important than the past, Yumiko felt better. Come to think of it, they didn't bother her as much anymore, those ripples of water...

O-O-O

A/N: Yeah, I guess it's long enough... It's just a little longer than chapter 2 anyway... (stretch) Reviews appreciated.


	4. Why

A/N: _Finally_ updated! Gosh! It's been a little more than two weeks since I updated! Ah! ... Well, here's chapter 4! Mei's past! Remember, I do not own this OC. HyuugaVSUchiha does... And let's hope she doesn't change her pen name... If Jishin and HyuugaVSUchiha change their pen names... I dunno. Just look for them by reading the reviews of this story. They always... usually talk about their OC's...

I didn't update because my cousins were, like, here at my house. They stayed for a week and kept using my computer since it was the only one out of three computers (My two younger brothers and I have one each since we- rolls eyes my brothers kept on arguing on one computer. My parents decided it would be best if we had one each) that had connections to the internet... But soon my younger brothers' computers will have connections to the internet, too (Yes! I'll be left alone! XD)... And my father also had to reformat my computer for faster connections... So I couldn't use the computer in a long while...

And another reason why I didn't update is because _someone_ (referring to HyuugaVSUchiha) didn't give me all the information at once. Ugh... It's a joke only! I'm not mad, HyuugaVSUchiha! XD Besides, I had to think a lot and I had to understand so many things about Mei's past. _And_ you can see that this is a long chapter.I am definitely sure it's longer than chapter 3... Anyway... Here's chapter 4 once again and I hope you'll enjoy.

O-O-O

"Shikamaru!" two female voices were heard calling as a lazy, yet intelligent, Leaf ninja lay on the grass of the fields outside Konoha and watched the clouds slide across the sky slowly like an old lady wiping a glass window really, really slowly. Shikamaru sat up and looked to his left. Mei and her cousin, none other than TenTen, were going toward him, riding on a cow.

As the cow finally arrived beside Shikamaru, on the shinobi's right just to be exact, Mei and TenTen got off their ride. Shikamaru lay back down on the grass as Mei walked to his left. Mei lay beside Shikamaru, on his left, and cuddled on his side.

"I'll leave you two alone." TenTen said, teasingly. She walked to the tree not so far behind Shikamaru and Mei. "C'mon, Miko."

"Who's Miko?" Shikamaru asked, not keeping his eyes off the clouds.

"Miko's the cow." TenTen replied.

A cow bell was heard and Shikamaru knew the cow, Miko rather, started walking to TenTen who jumped up to the tree's branch. Miko rested near the tree, under the shade.

"Mei, remind me of something."  
"What is it, Shika-kun?"  
"Why do you like your cousin so much?"  
"I'll tell you again, Shika-kun?"  
"I just felt like starting a conversation." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Okay! Let's go back to the beginning!" Mei said cheerfully, standing up, "When I was a little kid, I was _so_ quiet! Just like Ri- Ritsuko? What's up with them? It's been a week since Yumiko and Ritsuko left! We haven't heard from them! I know Ritsuko wouldn't dare write to me... There's no way that she would..." Mei grumbled a little but went back to yelling, "But what about Yumiko? Why isn't she writing to me? Is she... busy? She and her cousin are in charge of their village but... Still! I need to hear from them! I am _so_ going to send them a note!" Mei was furious, seemingly...

Shikamaru chuckled. It's really hard to believe that Mei used to act like Ritsuko when she was young; serious, quiet and all of Ritsuko's traits... They were the opposite of Mei! But then Mei stopped yelling. She looked back at Shikamaru who was simply looking back at her. A flush of pink was seen spreading across the girl's face.

"S- sorry, Shika-kun."  
Shikamaru simply showed a puzzled look.  
"I'm... well... I'm not really like this."  
"You're _not_?" Shikamaru, smiling, raised an eyebrow.  
The slightly pink blush on Mei's cheeks turned from slight pink to red. "I meant with you... You... You know what I mean!"  
"Okay, okay. I know." Shikamaru said, nodding.

Mei slowly and quietly lay back down beside Shikamaru, on his left still, and rested her head on his chest while her left arm on his abdomen and her right one on her own stomach. Sooner or later the brown-haired kunoichi dozed off while the black-haired shinobi, still smiling, continued to watch the clouds float freely in the sky...

O-O-O

"Freaky!"  
"I know! She doesn't talk at all!"  
"How can she live like that?"  
"Yeah! I can't believe we're related to her!"  
"Siblings even! We're her siblings!"  
"How can mom and dad keep her here?"  
"There's something wrong with her."  
"Yeah..."

Whispers and glares always were because of the youngest child in the Agurashi family. Despised and not minded, ignored rather, by six of her seven older siblings, and causing some of the worries of her parents, young Agurashi Mei sits alone in her family's garden, watching the wonderful looking butterflies fly around their garden's fragrant flowers.

She watched with her dark, brown eyes as one butterfly flew toward her and landed on her silky, brown hair. The butterfly had glittering sea blue wings which had nice, black patterns.

Mei felt somehow happy, but she still did not smile. The butterfly was beautiful. It seemed to want to make friends with Mei, but Mei felt that there was something missing.

"Mei! Your cousin came to visit! Come inside and meet her!" called the eldest daughter and child of the family, Nao, the only one among Mei's brothers and sisters that actually respected her.

Mei silently stood up as the butterfly flew back to its fellow butterflies and back to the flowers.

Inside, Mei saw her dark brown-haired cousin sitting on one of the wooden chairs in the living room as her mother, Mei's aunt, talked to Mei's mother. The others, Mei's brothers and sisters have already introduced themselves to their cousin. The girl looked around the room and saw Mei. Curious, she walked to the quiet girl and smiled, waving to her cousin. "Hi. I'm TenTen. What's your name?"

For the first time, Mei smiled and spoke.

"I'm Mei."

Both brunettes played all day long. They rested a little recently and talked to each other, getting to know more about one another. That's what Mei wanted. She wanted someone nice to talk to. She wanted someone who understood her.

From then on, Mei started being happy-go-lucky. Her siblings seemed to treat her a lot better and her parents couldn't be a little bit happier.

But Mei could never wait for her cousin to go and visit her and her family in Rain again. But she didn't treat TenTen as a cousin anymore. She treated her as a bestfriend, or as a sister, almost.

Mei had better chances of making friends, too. She made a lot of friends at school. She made friends with those who she accidentally bumped into at the streets. She even made friends with the Mizukage's son!

The Mizukage's son, Hwoarang, had messy blue hair and golden-brown eyes. He and Mei always sat beside each other during classes at the ninja academy. They trained and studied together, they ate their snacks together, they played with each other during break time, they waited for their parents after school, they hang out, and they did so many things the typical group of friends... best friends would do. And they've been the best of friends even for the few years together...

That was... until that night that the tragic incident happened.

The eight brothers and sisters were standing near a set of stairs in the living room floor of the house of the Agurashi family for they have heard unusual noises from the second floor. The wallpaper was torn in many parts of the room. Wooden furniture such as tables and chairs were broken. Everything made out of glass or anything fragile was broken as well. The windows' curtains were torn just like the wallpaper. No matter how anyone would describe it, one word may put all the descriptions simple... It was a _disaster_. Blood was everywhere, too. Blood was on the walls, on the furniture and on the floor... The floor... was where Mei's parents lay... They were dead.

Mei's mother was right beside the door, probably when she tried to get out of the house. Mei's father was near a corner with a kunai knife near his hand, probably when he tried to defend and protect himself from who had killed them. Yes, the parents of the eight siblings were murdered. The children knew who killed their parents because there they stood, the murderers, the anbu group of five...

Once the brothers and sisters saw this, they became frightened.

"Run! Go! Up the stairs! NOW!" Nao yelled and her seven younger siblings followed. They ran up the set of stairs, going up to the second floor. The eldest son named Kurei brought Sumirei, the second to the eldest daughter, to a window. Sumirei knew that Kurei was telling her to jump out of the window which leads to the back of the house. "Once you jump out, the others will, too. You catch them, okay?" Kurei instructed and Sumirei quickly followed.

The other five jumped out as quickly as Sumirei did. Sumirei was only one person, and it was probably hard to catch her other siblings at the same time, so once Natsumei, the second to the eldest son, jumped out, he didn't let Sumirei catch him but instead landed on his feet and caught Satsurei, his twin sister. Satsurei gracefully got to her feet after being caught by her brother. She caught Mei who jumped after her while Sumirei caught Kodome, the youngest son. Natsumei caught Kasumi, the second to the youngest daughter and child, so then it was only Kurei left in the second floor of their house.

"C'mon Kurei! Jump!" called Kasumi.

Kurei leaned on the window pane but then paused. He's eyes widened... He heard a scream, a few thuds and then silence which meant that Nao was killed. He knew the group of masked people would run up the stairs so he quickly placed both his feet on the window pane, standing on it, ready to jump.

But it was too late...

"Aargh!" he shouted as he was in pain. He fell out of the window and landed on the ground, blood dripping on his body and with a kunai knife pierced on the back of his head.

"Run!" the twins yelled as they witnessed the death of the eldest son of the Agurashi family. They all ran, fortunately. Sumirei, being the eldest of the remaining, felt responsible and decided to protect her brothers and sisters, so she ran behind the group of Agurashi siblings. Eventually, she got hit by who-knows-what and who-knows-where and collapsed to the ground. The five other children didn't _dare_ to look back and figure out how their sister died because they knew that if they stopped to look at a horrible sight, they may die as well...

A dark night, it was, as Natsumei and Satsurei guided the others in the streets of the Hidden Village of Rain. They were all panting, yes, but they were not stupid enough to stop and rest then die afterwards. It was a sad fact, horrible actually, but it is true. They did not stop running for their lives. They just couldn't lose the anbu group, for they were just so young. They probably ran around a quarter of the whole village by then! It was really hard to get rid of those masked people...

Mei tripped and landed on her belly all of a sudden, being tired of running. She looked up at her remaining four siblings and saw them taking a halt in front of her then turning to face her. "Guys!" Mei called.

"Mei!" Natsumei exclaimed and ran back to his youngest sister.

_Whoosh!_

A kunai knife appeared just right in front of Mei's face. Kasumi screamed, frightened. She took a few steps back. Kodome turned ninety degrees to look at Kasumi.

_Whoosh!_

Kasumi screamed again, surprised. She turned to look behind her and saw a masked man. The man quickly brought out a kunai knife behind him and moved his right hand, the one with the knife, across the little girl's neck, attempting if to chop her head off, just as rapid. And he succeeded. Kasumi's head was torn out from her body and she was beheaded. Her body simply dropped to the ground and her head rolled over to Kodome who would've fainted at the sight.

"No! Kasumi!" Satsurei screamed as she watched the terrible death of another member of the Agurashi family. She sobbed out loud and so did the others.

The other four masked murderers arrived in mere seconds. The one who had sliced Kasumi's head off looked at the four last children.

"These were the orders of the Mizukage. We let four of the pests live. We don't kill them anytime. We won't kill especially the youngest... The next Mizukage's best... friend..." he informed the other anbu, looking down at Mei.

He walked to Mei, kicking Kasumi's body aside and kicking the head of the poor, little sister of the remaining siblings like a simple kickball. Mei was still on the ground, tears stinging her once happy, glittering, brown eyes. The man took hold of her hair and pulled her up to her feet. Mei whimpered like an injured puppy as she was pulled away from her three siblings. She never knew things like these would happen.

"What are you going to do with Mei?" Natsumei yelled, sounding like he was demanding the masked man to give his sister back. Mei just cried. She did not know what to do. She was clueless, helpless even.

The man keeping Mei away from the others probably ignored the question. "The three other pests stay locked up in the dungeons. This one will be under the care of a jounin..." The other anbu understood and took hold of Mei's sister and brothers. The four anbu started to walk away, with Mei's last siblings...

"No! Let me go!" Mei yelled when her family was out of sight, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, "Why? I can't stay all by myself! Why can't I stay- No! Why can't they stay with me? I... I need them! I... Natsumei! Satsurei! Kodome! I... No... Why...?"

"The Mizukage has his reasons. He only ordered us to do this."

Mei sobbed, still, and looked up at the masked man.

"You graduate from ninja academy first. Take your training seriously, as well as your studies, and then graduate. When the time comes, your siblings will be returned to you, once you do a little something the Mizukage wants you to do."

Mei didn't understand. What was she supposed to do? What did the Mizukage want her to do? _Why_ did the Mizukage want her to do this? Why did _any_ of this happen in the first place?

The man pulled her, by the hair still, through the dark night that swallowed the village. Mei could only cry. They arrived, after a few minutes, in front of an empty apartment. The anbu brought Mei into the apartment and left her there. Mei crawled to a corner and sat there. She bent her knees up and leaned on them. Dawn had arrived moments later and light lit up the room of darkness. The whole incident, Mei knew, would change many things.

Since then, Mei did not speak to any of her classmates and... friends... if she still had any. She avoided talking to almost anyone. She only trained and studied hard like the anbu told her to do so. And she avoided Hwoarang, he being the Mizukage's son.

_"Would we be friends forever, Hwoarang?"  
"No matter what!" both kids said. They laughed. Mei and Hwoarang had made their word._

"But we never kept that word..." Mei thought when Hwoarang had sat behind her, both of them still ignoring the other, "Why...?"

In a few years, Mei graduated. She continued to train to get better. She was determined to save her siblings. Many years after, being around thirteen years old, Mei took time to make herself ready. The jounin that had watched over her for the whole time brought her to a river bank outside the village where she would meet the Mizukage. Then the jounin left once the Mizukage arrived.

"Kill me..."  
"Wha- what...?"  
"You heard me little girl. If you could kill me, the Mizukage, then your brothers and sister will be returned to you..."

Mei could not believe it. How was she supposed to kill the Mizukage? How was _anyone_ supposed to kill the Mizukage?

"Of course, I don't expect you to kill me now... You're just another child lower than I am."

With that, Mei got offended and immediately took out three kunai knives and threw it at the Mizukage. The Mizukage caught the knives by the handles and threw it back at Mei. It seemed easy for him to do so as if it was just a trick. Mei jumped at once to avoid the knives. From there, the battle started.

Mei landed on some tree's branch. She hid in the leaves for a while and thought of a way to get close to the Mizukage and strike. She heard a few thuds and figured that the Mizukage threw kunai knives which hit some part of the tree Mei was on. She jumped up, just above the tree, and looked down to see that the Mizukage barely moved from his spot. Mei landed on the ground, in front of the Mizukage. She instantly attempted to kick him, using her left foot, which didn't work since the Mizukage took hold of her ankle with his left hand. Just as fast, she lifted her right leg into the air and also attempted to kick the Mizukage. Just like the first attempt, the Mizukage had taken hold of the ankle with his other hand. (A/N: If you're a World Wrestling Entertainment fan, you could tell I got Mei's move from Rob Van Dam, Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy. I sort of mixed Round House Kick and Jump Spin Back Kick.)

Mei's upper body fell to the ground, her ankles still being held by the Mizukage. She was now upside down, facing the Mizukage. With all her might, Mei tried to pull the Mizukage to the ground. Unlike any of the other two attempts, she succeeded and got to pull the Mizukage and he fell forward, letting go of Mei's ankles so he would stop himself from falling on his face by using his hands. Before the Mizukage would fall on top of her, Mei got out of the way, to the Mizukage's side. She stood up at once and jumped up to a different tree's branch before the Mizukage turned to see where she had gone.

"Little girl, you know that you cannot hide from me all the time. It won't get your brothers and sister back." the Mizukage said, getting up to his feet. He heard rustling from behind; making him turn to see what was going on behind his back, like it would make anyone do. He saw Mei, her brown hair being blown to the direction from where she came from which was to her left, where the river would be close by. She had three kunai knives' handles between four of her fingers of her right hand which she placed close to her neck. The Mizukage closed his hand to form a fist and punched Mei right in the face. But the girl he saw turned into water and soaked the Mizukage's right arm. Mei had only made a clone out of the water from the river. That would explain why the clone had come from the direction to where the river was.

The clone, the Mizukage thought, was probably a distraction so he hurriedly turned around, thinking Mei would attack from behind.

_Whoosh!_

The Mizukage turned around a second time and saw a shuriken moving toward him. He quickly moved aside and dodged the sharp object. So it was clear. Mei had tricked him. After the clone had disappeared, the Mizukage would turn, expecting something to come from behind. But Mei threw a shuriken from where the Mizukage was facing before he turned around the first time. "She's a clever girl..." the Mizukage thought.

"Take this, you bastard!"

The Mizukage turned for the last time and saw Mei coming from another tree yet again. Mei had formed a fist, too. Once she was around a foot close to the Mizukage, she pulled her arm back and got ready to punch the Mizukage. The Mizukage did the same and punched Mei first, before _Mei_ could punch _him_. Mei went flying to the river and fell into the water.

"Damn it... I need to do something... I need to do something so I can get Natsumei, Satsurei and Kodome back..." Mei thought as she did some hand gestures underwater.

"She's a clever, clever girl. I didn't think that she could actually pull of all those stunts." the Mizukage thought, watching the river's water, expecting something from Mei. Then something _did_ come from Mei. She jumped out of the water and landed on the ground. The Mizukage got ready to attack. But then something else shot up from the water. It was another water clone. One by one, clones came. So around ten clones were now surrounding the Mizukage.

One clone charged at him, two jumped from behind, two came from both sides. The Mizukage quickly jumped forward making the first five clones hit each other and turn into water. Two clones jumped as well, one clone was a few feet away from him in front, and the other was behind him. The one behind the Mizukage threw two kunai knives at him, the other threw a shuriken. The Mizukage moved aside just as the clones threw the sharp objects, making those objects hit the clones instead. The Mizukage landed and water splashed to the ground just as he did. Three clones were left. Which one was the real Mei?

The last three clones ran to the Mizukage. The Mizukage simply got ready to punch them once more and hopefully hit the real Mei. But when the three clones were around two or three feet away, they turned into water which fell to the ground. The Mizukage then felt a burning pain in his chest. He looked down to see blood dripping down his body. He saw a kunai knife pierced through his chest, close to where his heart was. "I guess I didn't take you seriously. Isn't that right, little girl?"

Mei, coming from under the ground, had attacked while the clones were only distracting. "You underestimated me. You see, while the clones did an act, I, coming from the river, dug through the ground and simply went under to where I expected you to stand. Now, if you would, please give me my family back."

The Mizukage coughed, letting out a mouthful of blood. Mei didn't mind at all, already seeing so many blood when most of her family was murdered. "Indeed."

Mei removed the kunai knife from the Mizukage's chest and moved aside, this time just slowly and quietly, as the Mizukage dropped to the ground. But then, Mei realized, she forgot to ask _why_ all this had happened.

Eventually, her sister and brothers were returned to her and the lived in a simple apartment. The villagers heard of the death of the Mizukage, most of them wondered why. Nobody, except Mei, her siblings, and a few jounins and anbu, knew why the Mizukage died. Nobody knew, not even the Mizukage's son, Hwoarang who was to be the next Mizukage in a few years time.

Months later, Mei, still not getting to talk to Hwoarang, bumped into the boy one day in an empty alley way.

"Mei."  
"Hwoarang."  
"My father... Do... Do you know what happened?"  
"I... I... You see, Hwoarang, I-"  
"What? What happened to him?" Hwoarang yelled, desperate to know what happened to his father, the Mizukage.  
"Hwoarang! I," Mei looked down, "I killed your father..."  
"Wha... _Why_?"  
Mei shot her head back up. "I did because he took my family away, okay!"  
"What? Now why would my father do that? He knows that we're best friends!"

Mei stayed silent, thinking of what to say to that. And then it came out, an everyday answer.

"I don't know... Why, indeed...?"

Hwoarang became angry at this. "Mei, I thought I knew you..."  
"But I killed your father for a reason, Hwoarang! Please listen to me!"

Hwoarang started to walk past her. "I listened to you long enough..."

In a few weeks, Mei did not see any sign of Hwoarang. Not anywhere in the village, did she find the boy. But then, on another ordinary day, he came out of nowhere when Mei was wandering around the fields. They fought. Mei was unarmed but she managed to fight back. Being able to face the Mizukage before, Hwoarang would probably be no match. But then first thoughts could be wrong.

It took long, the fight. It took a lot longer than when Mei had faced the Mizukage because whatever moves both Mei and Hwoarang pulled off, the results were equal.

And it ended, later on. All it took was a final punch from each other and they were both unconscious. Noone saw it...

Well, except for one black-haired shinobi...

O-O-O

"And that's where we met..." Shikamaru whispered in his sleep. It sounded like it was the end of a story, though with a new beginning...

"Aww! How sweet!" came a teasing voice.

Shikamaru jerked his eyes open and looked to his left, seeing a blonde kunoichi standing there, smirking. Mei opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Shikamaru. Her eyes widened and she immediately sat up, turning bright red. She blushed a lot more, if humanly possible, when she looked up, seeing Ino standing near by. "N- nothing hapened..."

"I can see that, Mei... Oh! We were supposed to be hanging out today, right?"  
"Uh, yeah. Wait for a moment."

Mei looked back at Shikamaru who was looking away, still lying on the grassy ground. She turned to face the 17-year-old and leaned close to his face, placing her hands on his chest. Shikamaru looked at her, wide eyed. Mei, hesitated at first but leaned closer. She gave Shikamaru a light kiss in the lips for one second and broke it. She stood up, avoiding eye contact with Shikmaru and Ino. She walked to the blonde and the two best friends walked back to the village.

Shikamaru sat up. He looked over his shoulder and saw that TenTen had left with Miko. He looked back at the two kunoichis who were still seen a bit. But he focused on Mei and smiled. The kiss was sweet. Mei had done it by heart.

And Shikamaru, of course, he knew...

He knew why...

O-O-O

A/N: Is it _too_ long? It's, like, more than four thousand and five hundred words! Can you believe I typed this? I'm sure that I can't! Well, hope you liked it! Especially you, HyuugaVSUchiha. Heehee.

Oh and remember my summary? _'And when the scars are showing once more?'_ That was from chapter 2 until chapter 4... What has become of the three kunoichis and the three shinobis will come in the next chapter!

That's all for now! Bye! Don't forget your reviews...


	5. What Has Become Of Us

A/N: I forgot my notebook at my friend's house. Who cares? I'm serious. If you look at my notebook, not much of the story you are reading is the same. I _always_ change or add things when I type this fan fiction! Okay, so on with the fifth chapter, "What Has Become Of Us" Hope you all will like it! Especially those who own the two other OC's...

O-O-O

It took around four or five... or six days... It actually took a little more than a week for two ninjas to get back home. Once they got to their village's gates one night, the guards opened them, the gates. The two kunoichis walked past the gates. One of them was greeted by many, the other was just there as if she were invisible. Sound ninjas greeted one of their two leaders, Yakushi Yumiko, with Cello walking beside her, as she arrived home. And they, the Sound ninjas, after many years, still ignored the lost demon, Kagachiwa Ritsuko, with Nell on her right shoulder.

"I hate it when they do that... They even have to bow for Yumiko..." Ritsuko grumbled.  
"C'mon Ritsy-chan. Why don't you wave to our fellow Sound ninjas?"  
"Have you completely forgotten that I am not one who is adored by many, by most of the people around our very own village?"  
"Oh. They'll adore you. It's just because you act so mean." Yumiko sticked her tongue out at Ritsuko.  
"Feh. What will I do? Shall I go to someone and grin at him or her?" Ritsuko asked. She pictured herself walking to a little girl who was looking around, making sure if she was the one the lost demon was walking to. Then Ritsuko pictured herself showing a wide grin, making the little girl cry, frightened and not knowing what Ritsuko was trying to do. Ritsuko frowned at the thought.

"Oh Ritsy-chan. You should be a little more... positive about other people..." Yumiko said, smiling. They walked one direction from another and stopped in front of a grocery store. They walked inside. Yumiko was only greeted by the villagers that were shopping and Ritsuko was only ignored, once again.

"Ritsuko! You're back!"

"At least I have my father..." Ritsuko murmured, turning to see the store's owner who had messy, black hair. "Hello father. It's nice to see you again."  
The man smiled. "Is that the best you can do? Why don't you give me a better greeting? You _were_ away from here for one week's time. I've missed you."  
Ritsuko managed to smile which was horribly rare.

"Hi Mr. Kagachiwa!"  
"Yumiko-san!" Mr. Kagachiwa said in surprise and bowed, making Yumiko smile.  
"If you don't mind, Mr. Kagachiwa, I'll stay here for the night. Kabuto-kun _can_ wait for just one more night anyway. Then tomorrow, I'll help him with the paper work." Yumiko said, still smiling.  
"No problem, Yumiko-san." Ritsuko's father bowed again, making Ritsuko roll her eyes.

The two kunoichis went to the back of the store where they found a set of stairs which lead to the second floor of the building. They walked up the stairs and walked into a living room. From the second floor to the third, that is where the Kagachiwa family's house is. And an 18-year-old boy; just like his father, having messy, but brown, hair; was lying down on the living room's red couch.

"Hey there, little sister. Hey there, Yumiko." the boy said, smiling.  
"Hi Hisoka." Yumiko replied, smiling back. Cello barked happily.  
Nell, being on Ritsuko's shoulder like always, chirped at the sight her owner's brother.  
"It's nice to see you again, brother." Ritsuko finally greeted.  
Hisoka sighed. "Do I have to go through with you calling me that again? Do I, your very good looking brother, have to? Can't you call me by my name for once?"  
"Good looking? _Very_ good looking? Brother, you were dumped by four girls so far."  
"And so? I'm still looking for another. And hopefully she'll look better than my last girlfriend..."  
"Your looks are amazing... It's just your attitude, dear brother."  
"Hmph. I can fix that in one night..."

Ritsuko shook her head. As much as talking to her brother annoyed her, Ritsuko liked her brother's stupidity. It makes her feel very much smarter than one who is older than her.

O-O-O

_-I just feel lucky to be with you...-_

It was dark, yes, as the night swallowed a well known village. A brunette ran back to the fields just outside this well known village. She, a kunoichi from Rain, looked around for one who was from Konoha. Yes, you may all know it already; Agurashi Mei was looking for a certain black-haired shinobi.

"Please let him still be here..." Mei whispered, walking to a spot she was just lying down on hours earlier. She frowned and sighed, finding no one there.

"Looking for me?"

Mei turned around to the direction from where she came from and saw who she was looking for. She smiled. "Shika-kun..."

Before they knew it, the two of them walked to each other and held each other's hands. They both walked to the nearby tree and sat on the grass in front of the tree. They just sat there for a few minutes of silence.

Shikamaru looked, past his shoulder, at Mei who sat at his right. The girl was quiet, though she was smiling. Shikamaru stared at Mei's eyes which, unfortunately, weren't staring back at his. But this didn't bother Shikamaru. He simply watched as Mei's eyes continued to shine in the moonlight. And what actually bothered the Leaf ninja was that his companion was awfully quiet. So then, he decided to speak.

"Is there something on your mind?"  
Mei kept her eyes on the ground. "Well, yeah. I guess there is."  
Shikamaru moved his lips into a pout. "Hmph." He then leaned on the tree behind the two of them. "Well, people say it's best to... Well, for me, I think it's usually best to tell someone what's on your mind to... get whatever's on your mind out of... your mind..."  
Mei giggled. "I don't want it to get out of my mind, Shika-kun. But I'll tell you anyways..."

"While I was with Ino, I was thinking about," a flush of pink appeared across Mei's cheeks, "you. And," Mei smiled anyway, "I was thinking of how I felt about being with you. I feel lucky. Do you know that, Shika-kun? I mean, look at Neji and Yumiko. They hang out together, yeah, but they only talk about things. I wish they'd do a little more like... I don't know. Maybe they could do just a little more than talking.

"And look at Ritsuko and Naruto. They're... They're far from close! Well, they're not exactly far from close. They like each other, I can see. But they don't show it most of the time. It's rare to actually find them together. It's _very_ rare. Ritsuko even acts as if she hates the guy! They really have to fix a lot of tings between them. I almost feel sorry for them. It's as if I want to help them... So there you have it. I just feel lucky to be with you..."

Mei looked at Shikamaru, her eyes were still glittering in the night. Shikamaru was looking at her, too, smiling. He placed his right hand on top of Mei's left one which was placed on the grass as well as her other. Mei looked down at both of their hands for a short while and looked back up at Shikamaru. Shikamaru held Mei's chin with the index finger of his left hand. He slowly leaned closer to the brunette and locked his lips with hers as he closed his eyes. Mei's eyes, on the other hand, widened while the flush of pink on her face became red. It was soothing, really...

But after a few seconds, Shikamaru just broke the kiss and smiled. He removed his left hand from under Mei's chin and brushed the kunoichi's hair with it. "It was just my... 'thanks' for earlier. I was glad you actually came to join me and... watch the clouds... But then it was embarrassing to find the two of us falling asleep later on."

Mei blushed a little more with that, if humanly possible.

"So... You feel like helping the other two out? I mean you feel like helping Yumiko with Neji and Ritsuko with Naruto, right?"  
Mei nodded as the flush of red faded but the flush of pink returned. "Yeah."  
"Well, Naruto isn't a problem. He left a few days ago for a mission. And it's a coincidence that the mission involves going to the Village of Sound. Heh. It's so obvious that he'd probably stop by to... _try_ to hang out with Ritsuko. So you can, I guess, talk to Neji."  
Mei smiled. "I'll do that in the morning." she whispered, lying down on the grassy field. Shikamaru did the same and Mei cuddled once more by his side.

In the morning, the two found themselves still in the fields and it was pretty embarassing. They didn't mind it much, seemingly. Mei did what she said she would do. She walked to the Hyuuga family's house once she and Shikamaru arrived back in the village. She knocked three times on the door which was opened later on by a 17-year-old blue-haired kunoichi.

"Oh. Hey Hinata."  
"Mei-san. What brings you here?"  
"I want to talk to your cousin. Is he available?"  
"Uhm, he's doing something but please do come in."

Mei nodded and walked into the house. Hinata closed the door and brought Mei to the garden, thinking that Mei loved the gardens. The two kunoichis sat on the grass.

"Should I get you anything, Mei-san?"  
"No thanks."  
"Oh. Okay... But may I ask why do you want to see my cousin?"  
"I just want to talk to him about him and Yumiko."  
"It's about Yumiko-san?"  
"Yup."  
"Then that's not a problem."  
Mei looked at Hinata with a questioning look. "Huh?"

O-O-O

_-This may be a morning surprise with these nine words...-_

Morning light struck another well known village. Two teenage girls and their pets stayed in the living room of a house above a grocery store that the family of one of these girls own. It was quiet but the girls didn't mind since it was usually quiet when there was nothing to do. To start a conversation, the black-haired one spoke.

"Yumiko, what time do you plan to go to your office? Kabuto is waiting for you, isn't he? He must've heard from many of the villagers that you've arrived."  
"I'll go to our office after lunch. I want to stay here first."  
"Okay then. I have training anyway in the afternoon with my two very boring teammates... They hardly talk to me."  
"Do I have to say it again, Ritsy-chan? I said maybe because you act so mean... Jin and Kazuya aren't that bad."  
"Those Neitaru cousins despise me, Yumiko, just like almost anyone around the village."  
"But at least not as much! And they despise you _sometimes_. They like your company. You've been teammates for years now. And besides, you guys are one awesome team. With your special moves in taijutsu, Jin's special moves in ninjutsu and Kazuya's in genjutsu, you guys are probably the best team I know. And your sensei is awfully nice and cool. Ziku-sensei is the favorite of a lot of people here in our village."  
"What's your point? All I'm saying is that I don't feel like going to training today."

"Good morning guys!"

Yumiko and Ritsuko, both sitting on the couch that faces away from the stairs that lead up to the third floor, turned their heads, looked over their shoulders and saw Hisoka wearing his blue boxer shorts, which matches his blue eyes, and a simple black shirt. He just came from his room on the third floor, also where Ritsuko's room was located as well as their father's. With his bare feet, he walked to the other couch, the one facing the stairs, and dropped his body on it. He looked at the two teenage girls and grinned. Yumiko smiled and also greeted her friend's brother. Ritsuko looked at her brother's grin for a moment and then greeted him later on.

"Hey little sister, why did you take so long in greeting me?"  
"What do you mean, brother?"  
"Ritsuko, sister, you were staring at my grin..."  
"That was because you-"  
"Oh my god! Do I have something stuck in my teeth? No! Girls think it's disgusting! I can't have anything stuck in my teeth! Damn. I knew I shouldn't have eaten that..." Hisoka started growling and saying things Yumiko and Ritsuko couldn't understand.  
"No, Hisoka." Yumiko joined the conversation, "She was probably reminded of Naruto-kun because of your grin." With that, Yumiko received a glare from her friend.

But before anyone could speak, a brown bird appeared from nowhere, actually from an open window but it was just so sudden that it seemed like it came from nowhere. It landed on Yumiko's lap with a folded piece of paper attached to its leg. Cello, lying on Yumiko's feet on the floor, got up and took a look at the small, brown bird. He barked, making the bird flap its wings. Yumiko calmed the bird down and untied the string on the bird's leg. She took the folded paper and on it, it said "Yakushi Yumiko" Yumiko smiled. She knew whose handwriting it was. The bird flew back out the window, knowing its mission to deliver the note was finished. Yumiko unfolded the piece of paper and read the note, only to make herself smile even more.

Ritsuko murmured something neither Hisoka nor Yumiko heard. She simply walked near the open window, where the brown bird had came in from and exited, and leaned on the wall beside it. Nell jumped down to the window pane. Ritsuko knew Nell wouldn't fall off so she simply kept leaning on the wall with her eyes closed. Nell was chirping softly at first. But then she started chirping really loud, as if calling her owner to look outside the window. So Ritsuko opened her eyes and looked at her pet chick. She got off the wall and turned to face the window. But before looking outside, she took Nell and put her on a nearby table. While she did, Hisoka looked out himself and smirked.

"I see why Nell was so happy." Hisoka said, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You should really check it out yourself."

Ritsuko glared at her own brother. Hisoka only smirked a little bit more and pushed her sister to the window, assuring that she would like the sight. Ritsuko gave him a deadlier glare before placing her hands on the window pane and placing her head out the window. She looked down to see what was so nice. But before she could make out of what she actually saw, not believing her own eyes at first, she felt a push from behind and before she knew it she fell out of a window from the second floor.

But then she landed on what felt like someone's arms. She looked to her side, her right to be exact, and saw an orange jacket with a bit of blue. She looked up, only to meet the blue eyes of a certain blonde.

"Uzumaki..."

Yumiko stood up from the couch and walked to a different window. Hisoka was occupying the space in the window Ritsuko fell from so Yumiko simply walked to a different one. She opened it and looked out herself. She saw Naruto with Ritsuko squirming in his arms. Seemingly, and obviously, Ritsuko wanted Naruto to put her down. So he did.

"Man. You guys are lucky."

Yumiko looked to her right where she found Hisoka's head still sticking out the window, just like hers. "You can say that..." Yumiko responded. She placed her head back into the house and read the note again.

_Yumiko,_

_This may be odd for me to only say this now. I mean, I could've told you this a long time ago. Please forgive me for I should've realized things a lot earlier... So on to the point..._

_Do you know the feeling when you receive a gift from someone special? Do you know the feeling when you would cherish that gift more than anything? Well, I know how it feels like. You see, I have recieved a gift. And isn't it a coincidence that I recieved this special gift just when I met you? I didn't realize it at first. I didn't realize how important the gift would mean so much to me. But now I simply cherish this gift. It really is a wonderful feeling. If you know how it feels like, to cherish something... or someone special, you would feel happy, too._

_You probably know by now what my gift is... Who my special someone is... Yes, Yumiko, it is you. I may sound out of character as I said that. That's why I chose to write you this simple note. Besides, I haven't heard from you in a while. How was your trip back to your village? Is Ritsuko fine as well? Naruto would be going there I assume. He has a mission. He would try to bump into your friend. Trust me... I know Naruto..._

_Well, there you have it. I know I should've said these before so please forgive me... That reminds me. This may be a morning surprise with these nine words... These nine words mean a lot to most of the people who have someone special in their life. Even a simple family would keep these fantastic nine words..._

_Three of these words I have said..._

_"Please forgive me."_

_The next three, I have also said..._

_"You are special."_

_And the last three... I have not said them yet. So here I go..._

_"I love you."_

_There. Now I am finished. It was a surprise, wasn't it? Like I said, of all the times to send this to you, it was this morning... Well... That's all. I'll wait for your next visit here at Konoha... Until then..._

_Life goes on,  
Neji_

_P.S.: Mei stopped by to talk to me about the two of us. What a coincidence, is it not?_

Yumiko smiled a lot more.

"Arigato, Neji..."

O-O-O

_-I do not think that will work out...-_

"Put me down, you idiot!" Ritsuko yelled, kicking the air and waving her left arm while pushing Naruto's face away with her right hand.  
"Ri- Ritsuko! Listen- listen to me!"  
"Put. Me. Down!"  
"Listen to me! I was only here for-"  
"You were here to try to talk to me again, weren't you?"  
"I was only here on a mission, Rit-"  
"Oh yeah? Then where are your teammates, huh? I don't see them! Now put me down!"

"Aww! How cute!"  
"You better do what she says, Naruto."

Ritsuko looked to her left only to see a pink-haired kunoichi in red and a raven black-haired shinobi in a blue shirt and white shorts.

"Ehehe... Hi Sasuke. Hi Sakura." Naruto said, embarrassed as he was just putting Ritsuko down on the ground, back to her feet.  
"You two look so good together." Sakura said, teasingly.  
Naruto blushed. "She barely likes me!"  
"Exactly." Ritsuko murmured, walking away, "So if you'll excuse me, I'll go."  
Naruto pouted. "Ritsuko! Wait! I-" he paused, looking for the right words.  
Ritsuko looked over her shoulder for her back was facing Team 7 of the Konoha Village. She looked over her shoulder and at the 17-year-old blonde who was scratching the back of his head with his right hand. The boy was looking away, down to his left side at the ground to be specific, and was blushing.  
"Maybe we can talk, Ritsuko?" Naruto managed to say.  
Ritsuko just looked at him. Naruto looked at her, waiting for the answer and hoping it was good. "Fine." Ritsuko murmured and shrugged, "There isn't any harm in a simple chat, anyway."  
Naruto smiled his wide fox grin. "Yes!" he yelled. Subconsciously, he ran to Ritsuko when she turned to face him and wrapped his arms over her shoulders. "I promise after this, I won't bother you again! I swear!"  
"Get off."  
Naruto blinked. "Oh. Sorry." he whispered but loud enough for Ritsuko to hear, removing his arms from over Ritsuko's shoulders, blushing.  
"Hmph." Ritsuko murmured and started walking. Naruto did the same.  
"Good luck Naruto!" they both heard Sakura say once they were out of sight.

Naruto and Ritsuko walked different directions with Naruto leading the way. Ritsuko knew where he was taking her. She knew this path very well, _too_ well. It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination. It was a park, a really beautiful park. The place had many flowers, trees, butterflies, anything so peaceful. Little boys would fly their kites or would play a game. Little girls would pick up flowers. Families would have picnics. Couples would sit on the grass and cuddle together at each other's side. People who seem to have no company would simply sit on a bench and take out a book to read or a sketch pad to draw on... or just relax and enjoy the peacefulness...

"Oh! Hi Ritsuko!"

Both Naruto and Ritsuko looked to their left and saw a black-haired woman, who was around twenty seven years old, sitting on the ground, near the path, with a book in her hand. She was smiling with her eyes closed. Ritsuko simply looked at the woman while Naruto blinked, trying to find out where he saw the woman wearing a white gown before. And then he knew...

"Ah! It's you, the person who likes Iruka-sensei!"

The woman opened her eyes, revealing green eyes, similar to Ritsuko's. "Oh. Do you know Iruka? I'm not surprised. You're Naruto, aren't you?"  
Naruto nodded.  
"Iruka told me all about you." the lady said, smiling.  
"He- he did? Cool!" Naruto replied, grinning.  
"You're just as he described you. How cute." the woman, who was just reading a book, said and giggled.  
Naruto looked at Ritsuko. "You know her?"  
"Hazeku Takami. She's a medic ninja. Her mother's my father's sister. Yes, we're cousins. We both have the same hair and eye color, as you can see. She knows your former teacher. What else do you want to know? I can't tell you everything at the same time." Ritsuko said in a fast way.  
"You- you're cousins? Why didn't you tell me before? It was so weird to find that you two looked alike! With your long black hair and her short hair and with both of you having the same green eyes, I was freaked out!"  
"You never asked..."  
Naruto pouted. He looked back at Takami. "Well, see you around." Takami simply smiled and waved good bye. Ritsuko and Naruto walked away as Takami continued to read her book.

The two stopped in a one spot where it was quiet. They sat there, _staying_ quiet. It wasn't supposed to be quiet. Naruto was supposed to talk to Ritsuko, wasn't he? Well, it wasn't that Naruto forgot to talk to Ritsuko. He was just looking for the correct words to say. He _did_ say he wouldn't bother Ritsuko after this. Maybe she took him seriously. Naruto was scared. What if Ritsuko would see things the other way? What if she really does have no feelings for Naruto? What if she never would? What if... What if she would never ever say "yes" to Naruto once he asked if she felt the same way... If she... All the "what if" questions were scary. Naruto shivered at them.

"Are you going to talk to me or not?"

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and blinked. He looked at Ritsuko. He gulped. Ritsuko merely stared at him, waiting for something, waiting for words to come out of Naruto's mouth. Naruto stared back at Ritsuko, frowning. Ritsuko noticed the frown but didn't seem to care. They both stared at each other for a long while in silence but then, the silence was broken when Naruto let out a sigh.

"Okay. Here, I go..." Naruto gulped one more time before continuing, "This park... You used to go here with your mother, right? You always go with her here, right? I mean, you've had so many good times with your mom and most of those them occurred here, didn't they?"  
"I do not know how you knew all those things, but yes. All those good times with my mother happened here. And I won't get those good times back..."  
Naruto looked away but looked back. "But you can get different happy times. You can go here with your dad and Hisoka. You can go here with Yumiko. You can go here with..." Naruto paused.  
"Are you saying that I can go here with... _you_? Never."  
Naruto frowned. That was one point down. "Ritsuko... I know you can hate me, and I know you can be mean to me, but I still want to hang out with you. You're a great person. You seem to hate being alone, being hated by a lot of people. So why not give me a chance to show you that there are people out there who _don't_ hate you. There's your father. There's Hisoka. There's Yumiko and Mei. There's Sasuke and Sakura. There's... so many other people. You see, there are people who see you differently now. But most of all, there's... There's me."  
Ritsuko blinked.  
"Ritsuko. You might hate me. I'm not quite sure. But maybe, if you don't have any... feelings for me, maybe we can still... Ritsuko, can we still be friends even if you don't like me?"

Ritsuko looked away and closed her eyes to think for a moment. And then she reopened her eyes, still not looking at Naruto.

"I don't think that will work out. I don't think we'll stay friends very long, Uzumaki."

Naruto stared at her.

_"Why? Why not? Ritsuko..."_

Naruto smiled a fake smile and looked at the ground. But the smile faded away later on as Naruto stood up.

"O- okay Ritsuko. I... I don't mind. I... I understand."

It was a lie, a big, fat lie. Naruto didn't understand at all, not one bit. Deep inside, it hurt. It hurt to hear that the one he cared for so much didn't even want to be friends with him.

Naruto looked at Ritsuko once more.

"I _did_ say I wouldn't bother you again. I won't. I promise you that."

Naruto turned to start marching away, never to be able to face Ritsuko ever again.

"Naruto."

Naruto's eyes went wide. He turned the second time to look at Ritsuko, forgetting that he was supposed to fight back some tears.

"I don't think that we being friends would ever happen because..."

Naruto's eyes went wider.

"Because I want to be something _more_ than just your friend..."

Naruto's eyes went even wider, if they still possibly could. The tears finally fell down his cheeks and the smile came back. He ran to Ritsuko, knelt down in front of her and hugged her like he was some crazy man. "Ritsuko, Ritsuko, Ritsuko! Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!" Naruto choked out, sobbing.

Ritsuko smiled.

"Trust me. I do..."

O-O-O

A/N: Yes! It's longer than the fourth chapter! I just know it! I'll have to wait until I count the words using Microsoft Word. You may have noticed that every chapter got longer and longer. One of my friends said it in her reviews and you know who you are, my friend.

Well, this is the final chapter! If you want me to continue, just say so. Oh, for a disclaimer, I do not own anyone but the following: Kagachiwa Ritsuko and her family, Nell, Neitaru Jin and Kazuya, Ziku-sensei, Hazeku Takami and… That's all. (shrugs)

Yeah. So… Special thanks to…

First, thanks to my friends, those who own the OC's, for giving me all the information that I needed. Second, my other friends for… reviewing? Especially you, the one who owns the Naruto/HP fan fiction. You know who you are (winks). Third, my friend who also based her KibaOC fan fiction on a song (I based "Scars" on the song "Scars" by Paparoach.) for helping me with some things. Thanks to you, too, the one who owns a GaaraOC fan fiction, the one with Olha. I don't want to leave my other friends out so I'll just say thank you to all of you! Next, thanks to my brothers for making me like World Wrestling Entertainment. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have gotten a few moves in the fourth chapter in Mei's fight against the Mizukage. Hehe. And thanks to _you_ for reading this! But someone like me, who barely gets reviews from those who _aren't_ my friends, _needs_ reviews. So please do submit one!

That is all. Bye! And don't forget the reviews… XD


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